Alex Newell’s Monday night was already pretty great. They attended the Met Gala, landing a spot next to Jimmy Fallon and Glenn Close. “I was like, ‘I’ve made it,’” they said.
Then boom — on Tuesday morning, their first Tony Award nomination.
“I haven’t cried yet,” they said in an interview from the Pierre Hotel on Tuesday, “so I’m waiting for that little dime to drop soon.”
Newell, 30, who uses they/them pronouns, was nominated for best featured actor in a musical, for their role as the big-voiced whiskey entrepreneur Lulu in “Shucked,” the new, countrified Broadway musical about a small farming town whose corn crop begins mysteriously dying.
In The New York Times review of the production, Jesse Green wrote that Newell, who may be most recognizable for their time on “Glee” as the transgender teenager Unique Adams, turns Lulu “into a full-blown comic creation.” They have become the show’s breakout star, bringing down the house in the middle of the first act with the showstopping feminist anthem “Independently Owned,” a soulful, commanding number in which Lulu emphatically declares that she doesn’t need a man to be fulfilled. (Newell’s powerful voice is showcased in two Tony-nominated productions this season: Their high-energy bop, “Kill the Lights,” plays during the disco-inspired dance party at the end of “Fat Ham.”)
Newell, operating on a few hours of sleep, discussed their first nomination, their dream role and their feelings about corn. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
How does it feel to receive your first nomination?
Surreal. Crazy. Absurd. I feel like I could throw up at any time.
Your performance of the feminist anthem “Independently Owned” has been earning nightly standing ovations. Did that happen at the first preview?
Yes.
Were you expecting it?
This is going to sound like the most pretentious thing in the world, but we built it for that. We made the song to make people lose their minds.
It happens every night now, right?
That’s the part that’s flabbergasting. The standing ovation isn’t jarring as much as the consistency of it. I’m beside myself a lot of the time because I’m like, “Y’all are really still standing up.”
How similar are you to your character?
Very, in the sense this woman has built her career and her livelihood on her own. I’m not saying I’ve done everything on my own without any help, but I’ve been making life decisions, moving cross-country on my own. So when I sing “Independently Owned,” it’s kind of my own anthem talking about what I’ve done for myself as well.
You identify as nonbinary, and the Tony Awards use gendered categories. Why did you choose to compete in the best featured actor category?
I look at the word “actor” as one, my vocation, and two, genderless. We don’t say plumbess for plumber. We don’t say janitoress for janitor. We say plumber, we say janitor. That’s how I look at the word, and that’s how I chose my category.
Have you seen any of the other nominated shows?
I saw “Some Like It Hot,” and I’m so happy that my friend J. Harrison was nominated. I haven’t gotten to see “Kimberly Akimbo,” but I’m superexcited that my good friend Bonnie Milligan is nominated.
If you could have anyone in the audience at a performance, who would you choose?
Beyoncé.
What would be your dream role?
I’m still gunning for Effie in “Dreamgirls.”
Last question, and I must ask — do you like corn?
My publicist says I’m not allowed to say it, but I do hate corn. OK, I don’t hate it. I’ll eat it from Chipotle, and there’s this lovely corn couscous dish at Glass House Tavern that’s tolerable. And my mom makes a great cornbread, so I’ll eat that, too.
Source: Theater - nytimes.com
